


At the End of Everything

by MiniJen



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Angst, Anxiety, Apocalypse, Blood and Gore, Deviates From Canon, Gen, Harm to Children, Horror, Mild Language, No Romance, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Torture, Violence, trau
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-23 07:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6109468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniJen/pseuds/MiniJen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A broken rift. An insane demon. A town falling to pieces. A family torn apart. When reality fails and all is chaos, can anything be salvaged from the wreckage? Is there anyone left to stand and fight back? Is there anything really left worth fighting for at all? (A darker retelling of Weirdmageddon, slightly AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the End of Everything

She could have never imagined things turning out like this.

In fact, Mabel had pictured things turning out every way but this. She had pictured planning the most perfect thirteenth birthday party imaginable. She had pictured happily celebrating the occasion with her closest friends and family. She had pictured entering her teen years as an exciting, opportunistic adventure. But most of all, she had pictured her brother being beside her for it all.

How incredibly naive she had been.

Over the course of only one day, all of her hopes and ideas had been instantly shattered. She had taken one blow to her optimism after another with scarcely any relief. From finding out that high school was far from the mature wonderland she had once envisioned, to learning that her two best friends wouldn't even be in town for her party, to having to face the fact that what had easily been the best summer of her life was all too quickly coming to a close. It had all been almost too much to bear. But certainly, Mabel thought, she could make it through all of these abrupt, disheartening changes as long as she had Dipper to go through all of it with her. After all, the close knit bond they had always known throughout their entire lives would certainly never fade, no matter how many years passed or how old they got.

Right?

Wrong.

She wished she had never overheard that conversation between Ford and Dipper over the walkie-talkie. But in the end, she supposed it didn't really matter since she would have learned of her brother's choice to stay in Gravity Falls without her either way. In many ways, it felt like a betrayal of their very sibling relationship, a relationship that she had always used to think was so strong. It must not have been that strong though, as he was willing to give it all up simply at the call of their enigmatic great uncle that he had only known for a few weeks.

In all actuality, Mabel didn't even blame Ford; not entirely anyway. And as much as she wanted to, she couldn't really find it in her to blame Dipper either. After all, he had been forming an admiring bond with Ford ever since he came through the portal; honestly, even before that considering how Dipper followed the words of the journal like they were law. It only made sense that he would leap at the chance to be the author's loyal apprentice, that he would want to stay and do something that seemed to come so natural to him, namely solving mysteries and discovering new things.

No, when it came down to it, the only one Mabel could blame for all of this was herself. She had promised herself that her and Dipper wouldn't turn out like Stan and Ford had; bitter, angry, and not even willing to so much as reach any sort of compromise as far as their broken relationship went. And though she had seen the warning signs that they were starting to grow apart as the summer wore on, she foolishly hadn't heeded them like she should of. Perhaps maybe if she had, the news that Dipper was staying while she would soon be forced to go home wouldn't have completely knocked her off her feet as much as it had.

But as it stood, this revelation had been the final nail on the coffin, the rough shove over the edge that drove her from her usual bright cheerfulness to the depths of despair. Though he had tried to reason with her and tell her that being separated by countless miles wouldn't be so bad, she refused to hear it. Just the very thought of having to face the challenges of becoming a teenager, of high school and everything after that, alone, without the brother who had always been there beside her, was what made all of her woes and grief come crashing down upon her. And though she knew it would be futile in escaping the harshness of the lonely reality she now faced, she chose to do the only thing she could think of in her immense sorrow.

She ran.

Hot tears were pouring down her cheeks as she ran through the woods, leaving the Mystery Shack, or more specifically, her brother, behind her as she fled for the sake of solitude and solace. The sun was sinking low through the trees, casting an unsettling scarlet glow over everything when mixed with the haze of the late summer heat, but Mabel barely noticed. Her uncontrollable sobs were both blurring her vision and shortening her breath as she ran, but she didn't care. All she wanted at that moment was to get away from it all, to forget what was now reality and not just an inkling fear at the back of her mind.

Never before had she wanted to disappear as much as she did now.

Mabel had no idea how far she had ran when fatigue, both physical and emotional, overtook her. Her pace slowed to a stop as she leaned against a nearby tree, slowly sliding down it until she was sitting with her back pressed against its base and her legs pulled tightly against her chest. She heaved in a relatively quiet sob as she threw her bag on the ground beside her, not even caring if Dipper had decided to peruse her or not. And even if he had, she was sure the only reason he would do so would be to try and make her see things his way, even if she never would. He had been faced with a choice between her and Ford, and as much as it broke Mabel's heart to think so, in the end he had not chosen her.

"I can't believe him!" she muttered to herself in heated anger. With frustrated sigh, she dug around in her backpack for the stash of candy she had stocked up on for the party earlier, hoping that it could give her some semblance of comfort at her lowest of lows. "What is he thinking?! He's done a lot of dumb things before, but this takes the cake! Or I guess it would take the cake if we _were_ even having a thirteenth birthday party!"

And there was that number again, thirteen. The age she had once looked forward to with such zeal and excitement, but now only dreaded. It wasn't even so much as their thirteenth birthday itself as much as it was what it now symbolized. Instead of the bold, refreshing start of their teenage years, it would now only serve as the beginning of their prolonged separation. Of course, Mabel was only bitterly reminded of this as she finished fishing around in her back only to find that its contents were anything but the sweets she had been searching for.

"What? Nerd books?" she frowned as she pulled a few notebooks up out of the bag, marked with scribbles with scribbles of the twin cliffs and notes about aliens. "Chewed up pens? Ugh! Wrong backpack!" she groaned in aggravation, shoving Dipper's bag away from her without really regarding the strange cold, round surface inside of it as she threw its contents back inside. "It's not fair…" she lamented despondently, pulling her sweater over her knees and face. She always felt smaller when she went to "sweatertown", largely because it was her way of closing herself off from the rest of the world. A way to cope with whatever troubles she wasn't able to simply shake or smile off. But even in the warmth and security of her own sweater, she found no such solace now. No matter where she ran or where she hid, there would be no avoiding the rift that had been torn between her and her brother. No evading the difficult loneliness of adolescence that awaited her back home. No escaping from reality. "Why does he get to stay here, while I have to go home all by myself? I just wish summer could last forever…"

"…That might be possible!"

Though this new, unseen voice normally would have startled Mabel, she barely even acknowledged it as she buried herself even deeper into her sweater, her face still moist with tears. "Sweatertown isn't accepting calls right now," she mumbled dolefully, not even caring who had come all the way out here to find her, whether it was Stan, Ford, or even Dipper But as she quickly found out, it was someone else entirely.

"M-Mabel, it's me," the vaguely familiar voice spoke again from somewhere in the woods, far too stuttery and whiney to belong to her brother or either of her grunkles.

"What?" Mabel frowned as she finally peeked out of the darkness of her sweater and glanced around the woods, only to find no one. "Who said that?"

The previously obscured figure finally emerged from the woods, the cloaking device on his wrist projecting brief flashes of unknown locations over his jumpsuit as he stepped forward with a amicable grin. Mabel gasped in both surprise and confusion upon seeing him, recognizing him immediately, even if she was struggling to come up with his name. "L-long time no see, h-huh?" he asked, his tone friendly and inviting as he smiled down at the dejected girl before him. "I-I overheard your problem, a-and I think I-I can help."

"Wait… the time travel guy?" Mabel asked, clearly bewildered as to why the time traveler (what was his name? Blonden? Bluedon?) was here in the first place. "What are you doing here?"

"Y-you said you don't want summer to end, right?" he asked, still wearing his wide grin as he held his hands behind his back. "D-did I hear that right?"

"Yeah…" Mabel replied a bit hesitantly, finally remembering his name correctly: Blendin. Blendin Blandin. "Why are you asking?"

"Look, maybe it's against the rules, but you once did a favor for me, so I figured maybe I could help you out in return."

"I don't think there's anything you could really do to help me…" Mabel sighed doubtfully, knowing that her problems ran much deeper than anything simply going back in time a few hours, days, or even weeks could fix. And yet, that didn't see to be what Blendin intended on offering.

"Just hear me out," Blendin urged patiently. "It's called a time bubble. It prevents time from moving forward in any given place. That way, summer in Gravity Falls can last as long as you want it to! The fun never has to end!"

"R-really?!" Mabel exclaimed, immediately perking up as she wiped her stray tears away. A never-ending summer? The very thought of this sounded too good to be true. Which was why, as much as it enticed her, she was still skeptical about it all the same. "But… how does it work?"

"It really simple," Blendin began to explain. "All I need is for you to get a little gizmo for me from your uncle." He paused briefly as a holographic image appeared over his wristwatch, depicting what looked like a strange snow globe, only instead of snow, it looked like it was filled with a liquid galaxy of endless stars swirling adrift inside of it. "It's something small. He won't even know its missing."

"What is that?" Mabel asked with a curious frown, staring at the holographic projection of an object that she had never even seen before, though she figured it was something Ford would have in his possession.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that," Blendin reassured casually. "It's just a little science trinket your uncle's been holding onto for the Time Anomaly Squad. I was sent to come pick it up, but I figured why don't we kill two birds with one stone? So… you help me out, I help you out, and we all go home happy."

"Hm…" Mabel mused, knowing that a lot of what Blendin was saying did make sense. After all, considering that Ford had been through countless dimensions, he surely must have visited the future at some point, which would explain how he knew Blendin and the Time Anomaly Squad. And besides, if the globe belonged to them anyway, then perhaps it would be beneficial to everyone, especially herself, to help return it to its rightful owners. "Maybe Dipper has something like that in his nerd bag…"

It only took seconds of hunting through the backpack to find what Blendin had described. The globe was relatively weightless as Mabel gently pulled it out, the radiant glow it emitted making her eyes grow wide with wonder. It was even more mystifyingly beautiful up close. The clouds of stars and comets sparkled brightly as they floated freely about, all contained inside the safety of the glass orb, though a sizable crack was etched into its surface all the same. "Huh, that's… odd…" Mabel noted, her voice soft and subdued as she watched the miniature sliver of space slowly ebb and flow within the globe. "Is this it?"

"Yes, that's it!" Blendin exclaimed in excitement, his grin growing even wider. "Just hand it over and I'll do my thing! Unless you're ready to leave Gravity Falls…"

Leaving Gravity Falls was the last thing she ever wanted to do, especially since that now meant she would be leaving her brother as well. And though she was ready to hand the globe over just that, she couldn't deny the small spark of dread that filled her as she stared at the orb, gingerly running a hand over the glass as she felt the crack and its apparent fragility. She wasn't sure exactly what this thing was, but she could tell that it was more than just some small "trinket", as Blendin had called it. Even as contained as it was, it radiated power and energy, the kind that almost made her tremble in anxious fear of it even as she cradled it in her palms. And if Dipper and Ford had been carrying it around with them all day, then certainly it something that garnished protection, right?

"I… I don't know…" Mabel said a bit nervously, drawing the globe back a bit from Blendin's outstretched hands. "This thing seems like it's kinda important… Maybe we should talk to Grunkle Ford about it first…"

Upon hearing this, Blendin's constant calm grin briefly twisted into an impatient scowl, though he was quick to catch himself before Mabel could notice. "Oh, you don't want to do that!" he exclaimed with a composed smile. "After all, you don't want them finding out about the time bubble, do you? I bet if you told your brother, then he'd probably try to talk you out of it, just so he could stay here while you go home, all alone…"

Mabel sucked in a sharp breath upon hearing this, her grip on the orb tightening just a bit out of both grief and anger. While she didn't want to think that Dipper would ever be that petty or manipulative, she also never used to think that he would abandon her either, but he had.

"In fact…" Blendin went on, his tone carrying an almost unnoticeable hint of goading. "If anyone needs to have some reason talked into them, it's him. He thinks he's better off being here without you, but you know better. In fact, I'm sure a time bubble would be just the thing to change his tune, don't you agree?"

She did agree. Wholeheartedly, actually. Certainly, a never ending summer would be just the thing to repair their broken bond. No longer would they be on a set schedule for being torn apart because they would never have to worry about being torn apart at all. They could stay together in Gravity Falls. They could continue having impossibly fun adventures. They could be kids forever. Everything would be just like it should, without any need for change at all. Time would stand still, the sun would always shine, and the fun would never end. Summer would be eternal.

And it was all just within an arm's reach.

"Just a little more summer…" Mabel whispered wistfully, the thought warming her heart as the glow of the orb reflected in her eyes as she glanced down to it. The small globe, mysterious and lovely as it was, seemed to hold all of her hopes and dreams in that moment. Which was why she took in a deep breath as she rose to stand, her heart pounding with nervous excitement as she held it out to the time traveler, already picturing what it would be like when everything was back to the way it was supposed to be.

Blendin's smile grew nearly manic as he snatched the globe away from Mabel rather quickly. An ominous wind rustled the leaves of the nearby trees, sending a shudder down the girl's spine despite her plush sweater. She held her breath as she looked to the time traveler expectantly, waiting for him to make good on his deal and prolong summer infinitely. However, it was only as he had the orb, or rift, rather, firmly in his grip that everything took a horrifying turn.

"Oops!" Blendin exclaimed caustically, intentionally letting the rift slip out of his hands. Mabel gasped in startled shock as the globe shattered into thousands of pieces on the ground in front of her. The liquid stars once contained inside of it spilled upon the forest floor like water as Blendin brutally stomped upon it to ensure it was broken.

"W-what?!" Mabel gaped, breathless as she took a small step back as "Blendin" began to laugh manically. However, something was clearly off about it as his voice began to distort and spike in pitch. What frightened Mabel even more however, was that, as the once calm breeze began to steadily grow into a violent gale, the time traveler finally removed his goggles to reveal his eyes. His pupils were but long, almost snakelike black slits and there was a bright, glowing yellow where there should have been white. Mabel's heart practically stopped as she recognized those haunting, insane eyes. They were the same exact eyes her own brother had when he had been possessed by—

"Bill!" Mabel shouted in horror, immediately realizing the grave mistake she had made. Even if she didn't know what the rift was, she knew that if Bill Cipher had wanted it, then certainly it couldn't have been good if he had gone to such lengths to trick her into getting his hands on it. "Dipper!" she cried as loudly as she could, panicking at this point as she prayed that her brother, or anyone really, was nearby to help her. Unfortunately though, no such help was to be found.

_"Sorry, Shooting Star!_ " Bill laughed mockingly, still speaking through Blendin's possessed body. _"But you won't be seeing Pine Tree for a while, maybe not ever again!"_ The dream demon continued to revel in his triumph as he swiftly snapped his fingers before Mabel could even hope to flee. A brief spark of pain coursed through her, and though it was small, whatever magic it carried was enough to render her unconscious almost immediately. The girl collapsed limply to the ground without so much as a sound, her hair beating in the aggressive wind as she lay, completely dead to the world beginning to fall apart all around her.

No longer having any use for his vessel, Bill left the time traveler's body, still laughing wildly as the broken rift began to tear apart reality itself. A beam of electrifying light shot straight up from the discarded rift and into the blood-crimson skies as the triangular demon watched with deranged glee, his deception having gone exactly according to plan.

_"At last! At long, long last!"_ Bill cheered as he glided high into the air, leaving the two unconscious pawns in his scheme unconscious on the ground below. _"The gateway between worlds has opened! The event on billion years prophesized has finally come to pass! The day has come! The world is FINALLY mine!"_

Nearly even citizen of Gravity Falls' attention was immediately captured as the maniacal laughter of the dream demon echoed across the town. But even more startling to the bewildered townsfolk than that was the gaping x-shaped hole that was tearing itself across the sky, ripping down any barriers that had once separated reality from the distant and horrific Nightmare Realm. Fear and worry began to fill the hearts of everyone who watched this chaos unfold, especially the two who had tried to prevent this from happening in the first place.

It only took the ear-splitting sound of the sky ripping itself open for Dipper and Ford to come rushing out of the Mystery Shack. In wake of discovering that the rift was missing only mere moments ago, this was the last sight either of them wanted to be greeted with upon coming outside, but it was all too real nonetheless. Try as they had to repair it, the rift had been shattered all the same, and along with it, reality itself.

"What's going on?!" Dipper exclaimed in a panic as he looked to Ford for an explanation for the giant x marring the skies above. "What is that?!"

"We're too late…" Ford replied, absolutely disheartened at the realization that his nemesis, had, against all odds, managed to win. His hands were balled up into tight fists at his sides as he attempted to remain calm in the face of this calamity for his nephew's sake, but even he could not deny that there was no greater catastrophe that could possibly happen than this. "It's the end of the world…"

By now, the ordinary citizens of Gravity Falls had realized this crushing truth as well as sounds of terror and chaos erupted from downtown with countless people already rushing to take shelter before the real storm could begin. In actuality, it already had though. And try as they might, there would be no escaping the horrors that were to come.

After all, this was only the beginning of the end.


End file.
